Photo by Ben Hensley | Tacos El Cabezon celebrated its grand opening, expanding from its single food truck into a brick-and-mortar location on Fulton Street on Thursday, March 12.
published on March 12, 2026 – 12:21 PM
Written by Ben Hensley
Tacos El Cabezon, one of Fresno’s most talked-about taco destinations, celebrated the grand opening of its first brick-and-mortar spot in Downtown Fresno.
Dozens of hungry taco lovers queued up in front of Tacos El Cabezon on 1234 Fulton St. on Thursday morning. What started as a foot trailer operation quickly drew long lines after launching in north Fresno in August 2025.
Founder Armando Arias Jr. said his passion for cooking began early. Arias Jr. grew up in the Los Angeles-area city of Bell Gardens, where he was raised in a single-parent household.
“The only thing I knew how to do is work in the kitchen to be able to feed myself when my mom was out working,” Arias Jr. said.
His love for tacos evolved during his childhood on visits to his family’s hometown of Mexicali, Mexico.
“That’s where my eyes opened up to tacos,” he said.
Since its grand opening on Aug. 16, 2025 at 420 W. Shaw Ave., Tacos El Cabezon has built a devoted following for its East L.A.-rooted take on Mexicali-style tacos, drawing massive crowds and generating significant buzz on social media. The truck has since relocated its regular stop to 517 W. McKinley Ave.
The new storefront will showcase trompos — the traditional vertical rotating spits central to al pastor cooking in a setup that may remind some of the popular Fresno and Clovis Mediterranean spot The Broilers.
After working in sales for over a decade, Arias Jr. launched the concept as a street vendor in Southern California in 2022 before stepping away to focus on a growing trucking business.
In 2024, Arias Jr. and his fiancée relocated to Fresno in search of a more family-friendly environment and more attainable housing. After sampling the local food scene, Arias Jr. saw an opportunity to relaunch the vendor business — at a whole new level.
“I started tasting the food out here, and I was like, ‘wow, the food’s good, but there’s not any kind of tacos like the kind of tacos I had,’” Arias Jr. said.
The concept relaunched locally with a food trailer known for its handmade tortillas and traditional preparation methods. Arias Jr. said that everything the restaurant prepares is made from scratch.
At Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez welcomed the business.
“As many of you know, this is like the new heartbeat of the city of Fresno, the county of Fresno, and we want to welcome Armando,” Chavez said. “This guy is probably one of the hardest working entrepreneurs here in our local region.”
Chavez also praised Arias Jr.’s work in the community.
“He actually went out and fed our homeless population,” Chavez said. “He just wanted to make sure that he showed people who he is and what he’s about.”
Chavez, along with representatives from Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula’s office, presented Arias Jr. with proclamations and acknowledgement of the grand opening.
“We are extremely humbled,” Arias Jr. said. “Only God knows how much we’ve had to struggle to get here and continue with this dream and make it alive.”